The customs investigation services never seized as many drugs as in 2019, according to the recently published annual report of the FPS Finance. Cocaine in particular remains popular with smuggling gangs in our country. Last year, 64 tons were seized, the year before that was 51 tons. In total, more than 72.6 tons of drugs were intercepted.
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Customs checks at airports and seaports, among other things. Last year, that yielded a total of 72,618 kilograms of drugs. Especially cocaine (64 tons), but also heroin and other opiates (1.9 tons) and over three tons of khat.
So cocaine was again number one. There were 119 findings in the port of Antwerp, representing 61.8 tons of seized cocaine. An increase of no less than 23% compared to 2018.
In the ports of Ghent and Zeebrugge, customs increased vigilance and anticipated new high-risk shipping lines and a possible shift of smuggling to the smaller seaports. Successfully. Nearly 1.7 tons of cocaine were found in Ghent.
Incidentally, the increase in cocaine imports did not only occur in the Belgian ports last year, because Rotterdam also saw a marked increase.
Most shipments came to our country from Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.
A new sad record was broken in 2019 with 72.6 tons. In 2016, 29.8 tons of cocaine were intercepted by customs in our country, 41 tons in 2017 and 51 tons in 2018.
Photo: BELGA
According to the cabinet of Finance Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld), heavy investments have been made in new means and methods in the fight against drug smuggling to our country.
Heroic smuggling has fallen slightly: 1.9 tons intercepted compared to 4.5 tons in 2018.
More than 1.2 tons of drugs were found last year by the drug dogs of customs, according to the annual report of the FPS Finance.
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